For more than 30 years, famed country music group the Oak Ridge Boys performed in Brown County.
On Dec. 10, they’re coming back.
Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban will perform their classic hits alongside a medley of Christmas music in their “Down Home Christmas” show at the new Brown County Music Center.
Even Santa himself is set to make an appearance.
“It’s going to be very exciting,” said Sterban, the Oak Ridge Boys’ bass singer.
When the Little Nashville Opry was around, the Oak Ridge Boys performed there for 32 years. “In our heyday, we would play there for a weekend. We would do two shows every night and sell them all out. You couldn’t get near the place,” Sterban said.
“We have quite a history there in Nashville, Indiana. It dates back for many, many, many years. We have so many fond memories. … Over the course of the years we met so many people, we have so many friends there now, so many fans, and we’re now finally looking forward to getting a chance to come back.”
This is the 30th annual Christmas tour for the Oak Ridge Boys, and it’s something the band has become known for, Sterban said.
The band released a new Christmas album, “Down Home Christmas.” It was produced by Nashville, Tennessee producer Dave Cobb, who has produced music by Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile and John Prine. It’s the band’s eighth Christmas album.
“I’ve heard Joe Bonsall jokingly say on stage, ‘We now have more Christmas music out than Andy Williams or Kenny Rogers,’” Sterban said with a laugh.
Over the course of their career, the Oak Ridge Boys have performed and recorded every traditional Christmas song. This album is a bit different, though, because along with some traditional Christmas songs, the Oak Ridge Boys also recorded new Christmas tunes.
“He’s a master at taking the old and marrying it with the new,” Sterban said of Cobb, “taking old sounds, old rock and roll sounds, old blues sounds, and he marries them with contemporary country sounds. The results he gets are very amazing.”
Cobb also works with new songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee, and some of them wrote the new Christmas songs for the album. “We’re adding a lot of these new songs to our Christmas show to make it new and fresh. It’s going to be great. We’re really excited about it,” Sterban said.
The new Christmas album also features a bonus cut of “Amazing Grace,” which the group performed at the funeral of President George H. W. Bush in Houston, Texas. The group met President Bush when he was still vice president, and they performed for the president and his wife, Barbara, many times in the White House and after the couple had left it.
“He asked us before he died if we would sing ‘Amazing Grace’ at his funeral,” Sterban said. “We promised him. ‘Yes, Mr. President, you can count on us. We will be there.’”
Despite being on their Christmas tour last year when Bush passed away, the group was able to get to Texas from Washington state to perform the song at his funeral before returning back to Washington to perform another show.
“We did not miss a date in the process, but most importantly, we kept our promise to President Bush,” Sterban said. “What a tremendous honor. It’s something we will never ever forget.”
Ever since, fans continued to comment on their performance of “Amazing Grace” at the funeral. “We’ve been doing it just about every show since then,” he said.
Sterban said the Oak Ridge Boys enjoy returning to Brown County because of the people here. “When you walk out on the stage, the way the fans there in Nashville, Indiana treat us is very special,” he said.
The band loves seeing how their music impacts the audience, especially when singer William Lee Golden is at the mic.
“When he’s singing that song, you look out there and see people holding hands, people hugging their kids, people wiping tears from their eyes, and you can tell it’s touching people and moving people,” Sterban said.
Performing in the new 2,000-seat music venue in Brown County provides the Oak Ridge Boys with a setting they enjoy. “We like to play in venues where there’s not a bad seat in the house,” Sterban said.
“Don’t get me wrong, we loved back in our heyday playing arenas and people hollering and screaming. Don’t get me wrong, that was very exciting, there’s no question. But it’s like a whole different feel here of a more intimate setting.”
Despite it being a Christmas tour, Sterban said fans can still expect to hear the classics like “Elvira.”
“You’ll hear me do ‘Giddy up oom poppa omm poppa mow mow,’ definitely. It’s just the law. You’ll probably hear, ‘Thank God for Kids,’ and some of our other hits,” he said.
The first half of the show will feature those classics plus new songs from “17th Avenue Revival” before an intermission. When the group returns, Christmas will take center stage, including Santa, who will take time to visit with every child in the audience.
After Santa leaves the stage, the group will take their seats in rocking chairs where they will talk about what Christmas means to them and share Christmas memories with the audience. They will also perform Christmas carols during this time.
At the close of the concert, the group will take time to talk about the true meaning of Christmas, “The birth of Jesus and how important that is in this day and age in which we live. I think it’s more important now more than ever. We close out the concert on a very spiritual, sacred note,” Sterban said.
He said the entire show is “the total package” of good family entertainment.
“”We’ve been working hard to make it a great show and we plan to have a good time,” he said.
The group averages about 150 days of touring a year, and they don’t have plans to stop. “We’re not young anymore, but we don’t plan to retire anytime soon. I hope that this time that we come will not be our last time (in Brown County),” Sterban said.
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The Brown County Music Center is set to have many other famous acts grace its stage this year and next.
Before the Oak Ridge Boys perform there on Tuesday, Dec. 10, Chris Isaak will take the stage on Sunday, Dec. 8 as part of his holiday tour. Isaak is best known for his hit “Wicked Game.”
Phil Vassar and Lonestar will perform holiday hits Friday, Dec. 20. The next evening, country star Sara Evans will perform holiday classics on Saturday, Dec. 21 with special guest Temecula Road.
For New Year’s Eve, local favorite the Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band will ring in 2020 with champagne and rocking tunes. Tickets start at $20 for that show. Chance McCoy of Old Crow Medicine Show and local band the Hammer and the Hatchet will be special guests for that evening.
Country pop star Brett Young‘s first show at the music center Feb. 8 sold out quickly, so a second show was added for Feb. 9. Tickets for that second show are still available.
Classic rock band the Beach Boys are bringing their surf music to Brown County. Their first evening show at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29 also sold out, so a second matinee show at 3 p.m. was added the same day. Limited tickets are still available for the matinee.
Rock artist Melissa Etheridge was one of the recently announced acts for the music center’s 2020 schedule. She will perform Friday, March 27 and tickets are still available.
Michael Bolton, best known for his pop-rock ballads, is also performing at the music center on Sunday, April 26 with tickets still available.
Outside of music, the famous game show “The Price Is Right” is bringing all of the games and chances to win big prizes to the music center on Sunday, March 22. Tickets are still available that show.
Most tickets start at $35 for music center shows and can be purchased online by visiting browncounty.com/bcmc. Tickets are also available at the venue’s box office.
The venue’s entire schedule for the remainder of this year and next is posted on the website. Other acts like JJ Grey and Mofro and Whiskey Myers will perform next year, too.
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